TDSB on Studying Online: Motivation and Benefits
Once upon a time, the words “summer school” evoked memories of kids who couldn’t get a passing grade in one or several courses and had to make them up during the summer, especially if they were needed for graduation. This is no longer the case in many school districts but especially up in the Toronto District School Board (in Ontario, Canada) region, which offers a virtual summer education that has many of the characteristics of a pure online school. Indeed, TDSB seems to be setting the standard for innovative ways to get children and their parents excited about learning in the summer rather than just marking time sitting in a nearly-vacant classroom, staring at the four walls.
The TDSB program takes the best of an online school and improves upon it through the online school learning environment which takes place over the course of a single semester during the summer. The TDSB took a look at what was motivating children (or not motivating them, as the case may be) to attend a summer classes, outside of the demand by parents that they make up or improve upon poor grades or missing coursework. What was quickly identified was that an online school — learning conducted on the student’s computer while at home — seemed to fit the schedules of children and their parents far more than creating a traditional brick-and-mortar environment that took up a great many resources and didn’t seem to accomplish much when looked at from a qualitative basis.
What TDSB Found Out about Online School
The online school and virtual school environment may not be for every child or parent. The TDSB found that children who are self-directed and self-motivated tend to succeed far more often than those children who need even minimal supervision in order to get classwork done. In many respects, TDSB found that learning in the online school can be a bit harder in terms of motivation and discipline than a child showing up at a regular classroom and receiving instruction from a teacher. It also found that children who were better organized in terms of time management and turning in work succeeded at far higher rates than those who demonstrated even just a little trouble with organization and time management.
Think carefully before considering having a child placed into the online school or distance education environment. Every education and technology specialist recommends that a parent look carefully at his or her child’s capabilities and sense of organization before deciding that plopping them down in front of a computer is the way to go when it comes to getting them education during the summer months because an online school is not the universal cure for every child out there, many of whom would benefit far more from a completely structured classroom environment before an online school.
